Saturday, September 11, 2010
Election 2010 - Richard Neal (Democrat-MA2) Vulnerable - AFLCIO Urging Members to Stand Out for Neal at Primary but Neal Runs Unopposed!
Incumbent Richard Neal - Facing Forced Retirement - Gets a Little Help from Organized Labor - image urbancompass blog
Incumbent Democrat Richard Neal is feeling the heat for the first time in decades. The Congressional Representative from the Massachusetts 2nd District is in trouble. How much? First, The Atlantic Blog reported that Bill Clinton was coming into Western Massachusetts to campaign for Neal; considering Neal is running unopposed on the Democrat ticket, this speaks volumes. Neal is facing a challenge from one of two Republican’s: Dr. Jay Fleitman and Mr. Tom Wesley. Both men will face off in a primary on this coming Tuesday; the winner of that primary will go on to challenge Neal for the Hampden 2nd Congressional House Seat.
Second, an urgent email from the Pioneer Valley AFLCIO was sent to members telling them to stand out on polling place on primary day to give the impression that Neal is not vulnerable. The email sent this past Thursday noted the following:
Subject: [Street Heat] Stand Out for Rep. Neal 9/14
URGENT!
Congressman Richie Neal needs our help on Primary Day, September 14, at all Springfield polling places. We need to send an early, powerful message that Richie is not vulnerable. He has a tremendous labor record and now he needs our visibility.
The problem: Neal is is running unopposed on the primary ballot according to the office of the Mass. Secretary of State.
Therefore, the ploy to have standouts for Neal on Primary day is a direct message to the media and perhaps Democrats or Independents who may think otherwise, that Neal has strong support in the district.
The problem with this scenario is he clearly does not. Three separate copies of the “Urgent Action” email were forwarded to this blog by recipients on Friday through Saturday, early morning; September 11th - clearly the honeymoon, especially with the rank and file – is over.
Therefore, this brings up the question. How much is Neal willing to spend on Labor to hold signs for him at a primary? Recall the Coakley-Brown election and the video where Union members were paid to stand out for Coakley? (Shown below)
Keep in mind that when you see people (Union Reps) holding signs for Neal at a primary where he is running unopposed, that the winner of the Republican Primary, will, in all likelihood replace Neal. Internal polls, hinted at but not forwarded, clearly indicate that Neal is in trouble.
The fact that Mr. Tom Wesley has made national news as of late for failing to disclose a financial faux pax (Boston Globe) insures that those who would prefer there be no Republican candidates in the Bay State are hard at work trying to discredit them. (See Sean Bielat "outed" as a Democrat - Beilat's entire voting record was placed on display. However, the ploy appears to have backfired.
It is doubtful that the Western Massachusetts unions will employ buses to bring along “Neal supporters” for a primary, but when going to the polls, those holding Neal signs will also be wearing “the Union Label”. There is nothing inherently wrong when Labor supports one candidate over another, normally a Democrat, as that was the Party that stood for labor and jobs, (notice past tense). What is ethically wrong, is when that support crosses the line to “give an appearance” of a candidates strength, when that candidate has no opposition on their party ballot.
In addition: In past elections in Massachusetts, Republican ballots at some polling places were in short supply, therefore, voting early and by absentee ballot is suggested in order to make sure your right to vote is not compromised. This stands for all races across the Bay State.
YouTube Coakley “Supporters”
Copy of one Email Form Received
Email form:
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Subject*: Primary
Message*: Got the following thought you should have it
From: streetheat-bounces@lists.pvaflcio.org [mailto:streetheat-bounces@lists.pvaflcio.org] On Behalf Of Pioneer Valley Central Labor Council
Sent: Thursday, September 09, 2010 3:49 PM
To: 'Street Heat List'
Subject: [Street Heat] Stand Out for Rep. Neal 9/14
URGENT!
Congressman Richie Neal needs our help on Primary Day, September 14, at all Springfield polling places. We need to send an early, powerful message that Richie is not vulnerable. He has a tremendous labor record and now he needs our visibility.
Contact the Campaign at 737-6325 and brendanneal@hotmail.com.
In solidarity,
Rick
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Suggestion: This blog personally supports Dr.Jay Fleitman, www.jayfleitman.com, however, whichever candidate emerges from the primary will have the full support of this blog against this incumbent, Richard Neal.
Friday, September 10, 2010
New York Times to Stop Printing Paper – Move to Web Based Platform Entirely – Date TBA
New York Times’ Arthur Sulzberger, speaking at a London based conference, made the announcement that at some point in the future, the Times would cease its print publication. In reading the article, one notes that a date was not given, however, the author does point to the publications dire financial straights, and the fact that unless an investor is found quickly, the paper will go the way of the Zeppelin.
The Times, once known as the Paper of Records, was thought to be invincible, however, as circulation for certain papers is rising, those with a left-leaning political editorial board, find themselves loosing subscribers almost as fast a Obama’s approval rate in dropping. It makes sense for these types of publications to take their point of view reporting to an online only venue.
Will teh nation miss the headlines blaring “U.S. Top Secret Plans Revealed....” (Fill in the blank).? It’s difficult to tell, with MSNBC’s ratings and the decline of the Progressive Times, surely those who are stakeholders should rise to the occasion and demand these individuals start reporting the news, rather than editorializing teh entire publiations/broadcast. It is their only chance for survival and has been from teh beginning. What is ironic is that the one force blamed for the demise of print – the internet, is where Sulzberger plans to make a stand. They should be mindful of the competition; however, news blogs such as the Huffington Post are well established. It is a question of changing from an editorial based “news” publication to a straight news publication or goes the way of the Zeppelin. How many more layoffs will be played out in newsrooms across the country, especially in these hard economic times, if the industry does not get back to its original format? Political Zealots have no place in a newsroom, not in a Republic.
The Times, once known as the Paper of Records, was thought to be invincible, however, as circulation for certain papers is rising, those with a left-leaning political editorial board, find themselves loosing subscribers almost as fast a Obama’s approval rate in dropping. It makes sense for these types of publications to take their point of view reporting to an online only venue.
Will teh nation miss the headlines blaring “U.S. Top Secret Plans Revealed....” (Fill in the blank).? It’s difficult to tell, with MSNBC’s ratings and the decline of the Progressive Times, surely those who are stakeholders should rise to the occasion and demand these individuals start reporting the news, rather than editorializing teh entire publiations/broadcast. It is their only chance for survival and has been from teh beginning. What is ironic is that the one force blamed for the demise of print – the internet, is where Sulzberger plans to make a stand. They should be mindful of the competition; however, news blogs such as the Huffington Post are well established. It is a question of changing from an editorial based “news” publication to a straight news publication or goes the way of the Zeppelin. How many more layoffs will be played out in newsrooms across the country, especially in these hard economic times, if the industry does not get back to its original format? Political Zealots have no place in a newsroom, not in a Republic.
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